Adobe Lightroom Classic CC: The Complete Guide

Class Description

Develop the confidence to use your imagination and create images you'll be proud to share with your clients

Thoughtfully use the Lightroom suite to streamline your workflow and add flair to your images

Organize your entire photo collection

ABOUT BEN’S CLASS:

Adobe® Lightroom® Classic CC can streamline your workflow, add drama to your images, and organize your entire photo collection -- but only if you know all the hidden features. Lightroom CC is one of the best non-destructive editing tools out there, designed to handle tasks from importing off an SD card and organizing to editing, printing, and exporting for social media. But the extent of the photo editing tools likely means that, if you are self-taught or just opening Lightroom CC for the first time, you're missing out on some key features.

As part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, the Lightroom Classic photography plans also include Photoshop and cloud storage, creating a complete image editing toolkit for photographers.

When you purchase this course you’ll gain access to an enduring resource to build your skills. You will also receive a workbook that acts as a reference guide, Lightroom presets, and Lightroom keywords, all included with the class.

Join well-known software instructor Ben Willmore to learn how to process and organize your images more efficiently, leaving more time to spend capturing amazing images. In this 20 lesson course, Ben covers everything from importing to troubleshooting and everything in between. As a boot camp, this course is set up so professional photographers can spend about an hour or so each weekday to learn the ins and outs of Lightroom in just four weeks.

WHO THIS CLASS IS FOR:

This class is designed for Lightroom newbies as well as self-taught Lightroom users ready to uncover the hidden features and Photoshop experts ready to try Adobe's non-destructive RAW editor and organizer. As a recent class, the workshop also explains Lightroom's latest new features.

SOFTWARE USED: Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 2018

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR:

Ben Willmore is a member of the Photoshop Hall of Fame who has taught over 100,000 Adobe® Photoshop® users on all seven continents. His bestselling books, DVDs, and hit seminars have established Ben as one of America’s favorite Adobe Photoshop instructors, and he is often the top-selling speaker at design and photography conferences throughout the world. He writes for numerous digital imaging publications, including Photoshop User magazine, and his award-winning books have helped helped hundreds of thousands of design and photography professionals make the transition from blindly following step-by-step techniques to “Ah-ha! I finally GET Photoshop!”

Lessons

Pick up a few key basics and start getting your files into Lightroom in the first lesson. Learn what the difference is between Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic. Learn how Lightroom CC uses an internet connection to sync image collections with the mobile apps on smartphones and tablets like the Apple iPad. Pick up basic terminology like libraries, smart previews, and RAW (or DNG). Get into the Lightroom mindset by learning key differences from Photoshop, like how adjustments are saved in the non-destructive editing process, syncing images, and why Lightroom edits take up less hard drive space, as well as similarities with Adobe Camera RAW.

Dive into image import in-depth, examining Lightroom's myriad of import tools. Learn what the different import options mean, then create your own import preset for easily importing images and saving in your preferred folder scheme with your copyright data. Once you have your first batch of images in Lightroom, learn how to customize your workspace, from the tools that you see to the image data that's visible in the library.

Lightroom isn't just a RAW photo editor -- the editing software is also an excellent tool for organizing images. That organization starts with a Lightroom catalog. Dig into catalogs, from what they are and how many you need to what files you need to edit photos on the go without all your originals. Avoid the headaches that come when Lightroom can't find your photos with file management essentials.

Jump into the editing process by digging into the basic RAW adjustments inside the Basic panel in the Develop module. Walk through what each tool does along with some behind-the-scenes insight, like why most sliders won't affect the black in the image. Learn basic tools like exposure as well as specialty tools like the dehaze tool for 'magically' removing fog. Uncover hidden tricks like how to quickly see what parts of your image are a true black.

Lightroom has, so far, only recorded all your changes as a text file describing the changes to the original image. Learn how to turn that edited Lightroom preview into a finalized file for printing and sharing. Learn the different export options, as well as advanced tools like adding a watermark. Then, explore Lightroom's Print module.

Lightroom works with the folder structure on your hard drive, sure, but what if you want more structure than that? Learn how to organize photos with Collections, Lightroom's 'playlists' as well as how to use the Smart Collections that automatically update themselves, and Collection Sets. Then, dig into the best way to cull images in Lightroom inside a Collection.

Using searchable keywords, you can find an image from any size collection in a matter of seconds. In this lesson, Ben walks through adding keywords to images, then using those keywords inside Lightroom for different tasks. Learn advanced keyword tools, like adjusting one keyword in every image using the term.

Lightroom adjustments don't have to apply to the entire image. Some of Lightroom's most well-loved tools are local adjustment options. Learn tools for perfecting your images in small pieces using tools like the adjustment brush and graduated filter.

Explore Lightroom's editing tools that exist beyond the basic panel and local adjustments in this lesson. Here, Ben walks through adjustments like sharpness and noise reduction, along with correcting common types of distortion.

Go beyond the Basics Panel and dig into the creative tools for fine-tuning your image. First, learn how that histogram in the corner can guide your edits. Then, custom color your image using the HSL panel -- hue for adjusting color, saturation for the intensity of that color and luminance for how light that color is. Dig into tools for vignetting -- or correcting a natural vignette from the lens -- as well as working with curves.

Shooting with a GPS-enabled camera or manually adding location keywords allows Lightroom to literally put your images on the map. Learn the fun ways to use the Map module. Then, discover how Lightroom can actually recognize the people in your photographs and how to best use the Adobe Sensei facial recognition inside Lightroom.

Lightroom is both a generalist and specialist image editor. In this lesson, dig into the tools Lightroom packs in for specialty edits. Start with controlling the black and white conversion of color images and using the targeted adjustment tool to fine-tune specific shades of gray. Then, learn how to merge high dynamic range or HDR images without leaving the software. Finally, stitch multiple photos together with a panorama merge.

Keywords can be time-consuming to add -- but organizing your keywords can help speed up the process, allowing you to easily find images without so much time commitment. Here, Ben walks through organizing keyword lists and creating related keywords.

Lightroom has powerful search tools -- powerful enough that, when using the tools properly, the software can find any image in five seconds or less, Ben says. Walk through all the different search tools and options for narrowing down the results to quickly find that specific image.

Adobe Lightroom has built-in tools to help you show off multiple images. Walk through the software's Slideshow tool, from creating an impromptu slideshow to customizing the results. Then, learn how to create photo books directly inside Lightroom.

Now that you've dug through all the adjustment tools, watch how they work together in this start-to-finish edit. See Ben's editing process as he puts all the tools together to go from the original image to the finished photograph.

Most of Lightroom's photography plans also include Photoshop -- and there are several times where those expanded Photoshop tools are essential. Thankfully, Creative Cloud programs are designed to work together. Here, Ben walks through the process of adjusting a Lightroom image in Photoshop, all while keeping the Lightroom catalog up-to-date.

Why is Lightroom doing ______? Why won't Lightroom _____? Gain the tools you need to troubleshoot common Lightroom problems in this lesson. Ben walks through the most common Lightroom problems, many posed by students like you.

Lightroom can be used by beginners -- and advanced photo editors. In this learn, discuss topics like working on two computers. Then launch into some advanced tips and tricks to get the most out of your Lightroom subscription.

In the final lesson of this workshop, put the final pieces together with Ben's tips to refine your workflow, from ways to easily share photos to a friend's computer or smartphone, to syncing with Lightroom Mobile to using web galleries. Then, wrap up with a recap before leaving the class as a fully-fledged Lightroom guru.

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Reviews

fbuser 199e5619

Just wow! Ben is such an amazing instructor - he is able to explain everything very succinctly and in just enough detail that your eyes don't start glazing over. I've used Photoshop for over 20 years and have been afraid (and didn't really want to learn yet another program) of using Lightroom, until I've heard how awesome it is from my fellow photographer friends. This course is extremely comprehensive and if you're a more experienced user, you can skip some of the lessons and just watch the ones you want - but even experienced users might get at least a few nuggets of information that they didn't know in every lesson. Highly recommend! And thank you, Ben. P.S. You're wife and her yoga poses are amazing. I just got into yoga a few months ago and can only hope to be half as good as she is! :o)

user-3a4b8a

I was taking a lightroom course from another provider and decided to give Creative live a shot as I wasn't happy with the other class. This class blows that one out of the water! I love the detailed instructions, he goes at a good pace and I love the transcription (I didn't even know that was there until I scrolled down). I would definitely recommend this class to anyone wanting to learn lightroom. Thank you Ben for giving this great class!

user-9d5e9f

I have been searching for something to help me with my images. I am fairly confident with my ability to take nice photos but sometimes they need help. I might actually enjoy editing now!